If Betteman doesn't reduce the suspension to the same 5 games given to Neal, then if I'm Thornton I take it to the independant arbitrator, Betteman knows less about hockey than the average 4rth grader. How he even was given the commissioners job is beyond my comprehension. Maybe they can find another ex turtle like Shanny to hear the case.

I envision the NHLPA having to convince Thornton to go this route. I'm not sure how many opportunities they would get to do the appeal/arbitration process with a well-respected player who perhaps was given a few games too many (at least in their opinion). So is Thornton being a god soldier for the NHLPA or does he really think he got jobbed?

By NHL standards, Thornton doesn't make a ton of money, and this could be near the end of his career. Losing 15 games (18.3%!!) of your annual salary is a big deal. I don't think it took too much NHLPA prodding for Thornton to appeal.

Bob McKenzie noted it first but one thing I think that Thornton may be bringing up in his appeal is the Scott Walker/Aaron Ward incident from a few years ago.

Walker suckers Ward, knocks him out, he misses time in the playoffs, likely due to a concussion and he wasn't even penalized....

There are other precedents I'm sure they are considering as well.

While I agree that "this is a new age" of concussion scrutiny etc. and lawsuits...an independent abitrator can say..."well you set the precedent when you let Walker and Emery (for his Holtby beatdown) attack players who didn't want to get involved (non combatants... and now you can't subjectively apply new standards."

I can actually see them dropping a couple of games off of this...(even though I think Thornton deserves close to what he got personally..)

Realistically..the NHL/NHLPA needs to get together in the off-season and come up with an agreement that basically states..."Ok...we recognize that things have changed...we agree that prior precedents/suspensions etc...are no longer binding..here is a new system.."

I'd suggest "levels" of offenses...like flagrant fouls in the NBA...

Level 1 --gets you 1-3 games

Level 2-- gets you 4-7 games

Level 3-- 7-10 games.

Level 4-- (most severe)...10+ Games..

You could add in things like...if you've been suspended once already (Matt Cooke clause)...then you automatically are placed on the "next level" of suspension if you come back again...so guys like Neal would get crushed if they had 3-4 suspensions in 2 years like he has..

You could add in things like..serious injuries make it at least a level 2 on up etc...as well.

Think it would make things much more transparent to fans/players etc. and eliminate the appearance that Shanahan is simply throwing darts at a board when he comes up with a suspension #...

You could add in things like...if you've been suspended once already (Matt Cooke clause)...then you automatically are placed on the "next level" of suspension if you come back again...so guys like Neal would get crushed if they had 3-4 suspensions in 2 years like he has..

You could add in things like..serious injuries make it at least a level 2 on up etc...as well.

Think it would make things much more transparent to fans/players etc. and eliminate the appearance that Shanahan is simply throwing darts at a board when he comes up with a suspension #...

By NHL standards, Thornton doesn't make a ton of money, and this could be near the end of his career. Losing 15 games (18.3%!!) of your annual salary is a big deal. I don't think it took too much NHLPA prodding for Thornton to appeal.

Stop exaggerating...it's 18.29%! :P

I hear ya Oates but can he resonably expect to get much lopped off of the 15 games? Maybe he's lucky and it gets reduced to 12. After taxes (remember, he works in Massachusetts) the diff is probably a couple hundred bucks. Here's my issue with the appeal...If Thornton is truly remorseful for his actions and agrees he crossed the line and deserves to be penalized, he should just take his suspension like a man. The appeal creates the perception that he is not so remorseful after all. If I'm ST I would care more about my integrity than the difference in salary from a reduced suspension. This is why I'm thinking the NHLPA has pushed this and Thornton is being a good union guy. If so, poor judgement on his part.

If Betteman doesn't reduce the suspension to the same 5 games given to Neal, then if I'm Thornton I take it to the independant arbitrator, Betteman knows less about hockey than the average 4rth grader. How he even was given the commissioners job is beyond my comprehension. Maybe they can find another ex turtle like Shanny to hear the case.

It goes to show that you obviously don't have much of a comprehension if you can't figure out why Betteman is in charge. The league, the owners & the players have never been richer!

I hear ya Oates but can he resonably expect to get much lopped off of the 15 games? Maybe he's lucky and it gets reduced to 12. After taxes (remember, he works in Massachusetts) the diff is probably a couple hundred bucks. Here's my issue with the appeal...If Thornton is truly remorseful for his actions and agrees he crossed the line and deserves to be penalized, he should just take his suspension like a man. The appeal creates the perception that he is not so remorseful after all. If I'm ST I would care more about my integrity than the difference in salary from a reduced suspension. This is why I'm thinking the NHLPA has pushed this and Thornton is being a good union guy. If so, poor judgement on his part.

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Here's the thing though. Why is Shawn Thortnton is the one being held "so accountable for his actions"? Why did the Matt Cookes, the Raffe Torres's & the Patrick Kaleta's get numerous chances before they were hit hard as this! ST has been in the league for 12 yrs never even been fined. Torres was suspended FIVE FAWKING TIMES & fined once since 2011! I don't blame Thornton one bit! He's being used as a patsy!

15 games seems a bit high in my mind, slew foots happen nightly with no suspension, just ask P.K Subban, and gloved sucker punches occur every game in scrums around the NHL as well, with no suspension. I realize when you combine the two and a player is knocked out a suspension should result but for a first time offender i do believe this is too steep.

This thing is so laughable. The whole procees up to now is laughable, and it's about to get more so.

Supposedly, they're going after viscious hits that target the head and are causing this spike in serious head injuries.

They're NOT trying to take the fighting, scrum stuff out of the game.

Just think about that for a moment. Then think of the severity of this Thornton-Orpik scuffle..... objectively. Players get slew footed, and slapped up side the head all the time. I've watched kindergarten girls act more viciously during recess. You get head injuries(see concussion) from plays that knock your head around. We have 2 guys injured from head injuries. One from a part of the game the league embraces and argues is necessary, and the other from something that they say they want to eliminate. We know where the suspension went, and to top that all off, it's one of the stiffest in memory.

Anyway, the kicker seems to be that Orpik didn't want to go....answer the bell. Remember, the league fiecerely stands behind the notion that players must be able to fight...blow off a little steam....keep the opposition honest. I digress. Appears the fact that Orpik wanted to be a pansy is what makes this thing so horrendous for Thornton...make Orpik such a defenseless victim.

Huh???

Now that we know a well placed bitch-slap can potentially put a player in the hospital, and have him leave on a stretcher....where does that leave our game?

What if Orpik had obliged Thorty's invitation and ended up napping from the result of a well positioned right jab?

What in the world do they do then? Based on the severity of the tag on Orpik, it most certainly will happen, and soon.

What's the difference? If there's a 5 minute fighting major assessed, does that give you a pass for giving someone a serious head injury?

Things just keep getting more ridiculous, and that will continue until the league gets serious about what it's going to do. It's not rocket science. The league decided that this whole culture of holding, and impeding had to go(right or wrong doesn't matter). They took the bull by the horns and dealt with it really quickly, and decisively. A little short term pain, but they made the plan clear.

As each day passes, what is clearly understood to be acceptable becomes more and more confusing.

This thing is so laughable. The whole procees up to now is laughable, and it's about to get more so.

Supposedly, they're going after viscious hits that target the head and are causing this spike in serious head injuries.

They're NOT trying to take the fighting, scrum stuff out of the game.

Just think about that for a moment. Then think of the severity of this Thornton-Orpik scuffle..... objectively. Players get slew footed, and slapped up side the head all the time. I've watched kindergarten girls act more viciously during recess. You get head injuries(see concussion) from plays that knock your head around. We have 2 guys injured from head injuries. One from a part of the game the league embraces and argues is necessary, and the other from something that they say they want to eliminate. We know where the suspension went, and to top that all off, it's one of the stiffest in memory.

Anyway, the kicker seems to be that Orpik didn't want to go....answer the bell. Remember, the league fiecerely stands behind the notion that players must be able to fight...blow off a little steam....keep the opposition honest. I digress. Appears the fact that Orpik wanted to be a pansy is what makes this thing so horrendous for Thornton...make Orpik such a defenseless victim.

Huh???

Now that we know a well placed bitch-slap can potentially put a player in the hospital, and have him leave on a stretcher....where does that leave our game?

What if Orpik had obliged Thorty's invitation and ended up napping from the result of a well positioned right jab?

What in the world do they do then? Based on the severity of the tag on Orpik, it most certainly will happen, and soon.

What's the difference? If there's a 5 minute fighting major assessed, does that give you a pass for giving someone a serious head injury?

Things just keep getting more ridiculous, and that will continue until the league gets serious about what it's going to do. It's not rocket science. The league decided that this whole culture of holding, and impeding had to go(right or wrong doesn't matter). They took the bull by the horns and dealt with it really quickly, and decisively. A little short term pain, but they made the plan clear.

As each day passes, what is clearly understood to be acceptable becomes more and more confusing.

What the league is saying is, it is ok to slew foot, and it is ok to punch another player in the face with your glove on, and get no suspension. But when you do both at the same time and the player is knocked out, then it is worth a 15 game suspension. The league works in mysterious ways.

^^Yes he did. If he didn't, his feet would not have left the ice, dummy.

Did you ever play organized hockey, Beatrice?? Eriksson never had the puck and Orpik left his feet as s tactic 30 seconds into the game. Fact.

Here's the point of impact. Feet on the ice. Fact.

What a maroon.

Now, I'm sure Rusty with either fail to return to this thread in pure embarrassment (expected) or possibly try to defend this ridiculous statement (more expected).

Let's see.

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NAS? For those of us that have intelligence....I'm a goalie & I even have a little. When I honestly first started to look at this hit. I saw a lot of things differently, but most of what I was seeing was bent on raw emotion. And even yourself saw that there was some contact to the head after a few different looks. My whole point in saying this is that intelligent people actually are able to change their view when they actually allow emotion to subside. Why would you even bother doing all this work of trying to educate somebody who has absolutely no intelligence? Why would you waste your valuable time on somebody who no matter what you show him & present him & show him the actual "fact" of a matter it's not going to matter. Even after this incident there will be plenty more this season of much the same. So, why bother trying to make him look any more like an idiot than he already shows on a daily basis? You, Kel & Shupe have some of the best intelligence on here, but you waste it trying to argue with somebody who thinks a quaterback is a refund. Why?

^^Yes he did. If he didn't, his feet would not have left the ice, dummy.

Did you ever play organized hockey, Beatrice?? Eriksson never had the puck and Orpik left his feet as s tactic 30 seconds into the game. Fact.

Here's the point of impact. Feet on the ice. Fact.

What a maroon.

Now, I'm sure Rusty with either fail to return to this thread in pure embarrassment (expected) or possibly try to defend this ridiculous statement (more expected).

Let's see.

NAS? For those of us that have intelligence....I'm a goalie & I even have a little. When I honestly first started to look at this hit. I saw a lot of things differently, but most of what I was seeing was bent on raw emotion. And even yourself saw that there was some contact to the head after a few different looks. My whole point in saying this is that intelligent people actually are able to change their view when they actually allow emotion to subside. Why would you even bother doing all this work of trying to educate somebody who has absolutely no intelligence? Why would you waste your valuable time on somebody who no matter what you show him & present him & show him the actual "fact" of a matter it's not going to matter. Even after this incident there will be plenty more this season of much the same. So, why bother trying to make him look any more like an idiot than he already shows on a daily basis? You, Kel & Shupe have some of the best intelligence on here, but you waste it trying to argue with somebody who thinks a quaterback is a refund?

I'm jealous.

I agree with you Nite, when I first saw the hit I didnt think it was a headshot at all. Turns out his shoulder got some of the head. I still don't think he was intentionally going for the head though. I think he was going for the big hit. But like I said before, I wonder if it's even possible to throw a big hit these days without catching some of the head due to the oversized shoulder and elbow pads. Seems like a big clean hit is rare these days.

i think a huge difference is bertuzzi didnt act his revenge until the next game. He had time to plan that. everyone knew it was coming. With Orpik it even looked awkward. I feel bad for ST.

You're right, shupe. Bertuzzi had to wait a couple of weeks before he got his chance at Moore. Wasn't there some bounty talk by Brad May in between to help stoke it? The optics of both incidents are brutal, taking them straight up as they appear.

Where is the next still frame? EMbarrasssment? You being sneaky and/or stupid as per usual, means I need to be embarrased? Your still photo at that moment means nothing.

Orpik leaves his feet as he finishes the dirty hit.

Coming off your feet after the initial impact is common and not against the rules of the game. When talking about somone leaving his feet, it's about guys who jump into checks (old Ovechkin Specials). In this instance, Orpik doesn't "leave his feet" to throw the check.

You just don't fully understand the rules of hockey, so you don't get it.